Return to NRL on the cards for SBW

Sonny Bill Williams is seriously considering a return to the NRL, possibly as soon as next season but more likely to be in 2013.

Confirmation by Williams yesterday that he was having second thoughts about re-signing with the New Zealand Rugby Union has sparked doubts about the 26-year-old’s future in the code beyond the World Cup, with speculation linking him to Sydney Roosters.

Williams still has 12 months to wait before the expiry of an agreement with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs preventing him from playing for a rival NRL club but the Herald has been told that Canterbury chairman Ray Dib has a good relationship with Roosters supremo Nick Politis and may consider waiving the clause.

The Roosters have released Queensland Origin forward Nate Myles from the final year of his contract to join Gold Coast and are expected to part company with star five-eighth Todd Carney at the end of the season, while Phil Graham (Titans) and Kane Linnett (Cowboys) have signed elsewhere for 2012.

However, it is considered more likely that Williams would remain in rugby for another year ahead of a possible return to the NRL.